The owner of a farm where a woman was fatally injured by stampeding cattle has thanked the public for the messages of sympathy and support following the tragic incident.

The owner of a farm where a woman was fatally injured by stampeding cattle has thanked the public for the messages of sympathy and support following the tragic incident.

Sandra Pearce, 45, from Worlingham, near Beccles, died on April 27 while taking her dogs for a walk at South Elmham Hall, near Halesworth.

The farm, which has a network of paths through beautiful countryside, is popular with walkers who also use a restaurant and visitors centre in a converted building known as Bateman's Barn.

Owner John Sanderson rushed to Ms Pearce's aid and tried to resuscitate her after she was trampled by cattle. The East Anglian Air Ambulance was called out and paramedics spent around an hour at the scene vainly trying to save her life.

Mr Sanderson said that he and his partner, Nicole Cook, had kept the farm, restaurant and visitors' centre closed to the public for two weeks “out of respect to the dead woman's family and because everyone has been shocked and saddened by the incident”.

He said people were still able to follow trails - including public footpaths - through fields where cattle were grazing but further alternatives had been provided for people who wanted to avoid the livestock altogether.

“There were alternatives available at the time but we have created further alternatives in the light of what happened although we don't necessarily think livestock normally present a danger to walkers,” he said.

The Health and Safety Executive is currently looking into the incident, which involved the farm's suckler herd of brown and white Simmentals.